Baghdad – A new open mall in Wasit province of Eastern Iraq caught fire, killing more than 60 people, including women and children, Iraqi officials said on Thursday. The nation’s internal ministry said in a statement that 61 people died, most of them broke up late Wednesday in Al-Cut city.
The ministry said that there were 14 bodies of the dead who are unknown.
The French news agency AFP quoted the ministry, saying that most of the dead were found in the bathroom.
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The statement said that civil defense teams were able to save more than 45 people who were trapped inside the building.
The mall, which was opened only a week ago, was in a five -storey building with a restaurant and supermarket.
The state -run Iraqi news agency reported that people are missing. Photographs and videos on local media showed the building completely surrounded in flames.
provincial government. Mohammad al-Meeh declared mourning for three days in a statement. He said that the cause of the fire was under investigation, but legal cases were registered against the owner of the building and the owner of the mall. He did not specify what the allegations were.
“We assure the families of innocent victims that we would not be generous with those who were directly or indirectly responsible for the incident,” said Al-Maih.
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The results of the initial investigation will be released within 48 hours, he said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani said in a statement that he had directed the internal minister to go to the fire site to investigate and take measures to prevent recurrence.
Poor building standards have often contributed to tragic fire in Iraq. An explosion killed between 60 to 92 people in a hospital in Nasiriah city in July 2021 was fuel by a highly flammable, low -cost “sandwich panel” cladding that is illegal in Iraq.
In 2023, after the ceiling panels over a fireworks machine, after bursting into the flames, more than 100 people died in fire in a wedding hall mainly in the Christian region of the Nineve province.
Poor building standards have often contributed to tragic fire in Iraq. In July 2021, an explosion in a hospital in the city of Nasiriah, in which 92 people were killed, were given fuel by a highly flammable, low -cost “sandwich panel” cladding that is illegal in Iraq.
In 2023, after the ceiling panels over a fireworks machine, after bursting into the flames, more than 100 people died in fire in a wedding hall mainly in the Christian region of the Nineve province.